Staring Headlong into the Abyss
by ncfan
Summary: He never answered any of her questions. Nor any of his own, really. Not the ones that mattered. Question x Huntress, takes place during "Panic in the Sky".


Author's Note: Takes place during _Panic in the Sky._ And now, I'm praying that I haven't gotten either of the characters OOC.

Disclaimer: _Justice League_ is the property of DC comics. At any rate, it does not in any way belong to me.

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"I have two questions. Why is everything but emergency power out, and _why_ is the Watchtower shaking?" Even in the position that he was, Question still managed to remain outwardly calm and blasé, though there was a noticeable testy note to his voice. Huntress always wondered how he was able to see at all, considering that mask of his didn't have any eye holes.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Huntress exclaimed, grabbing Question's IV unit before it could crash to the floor; _Really don't need that._ "I've been with you the whole time, haven't I?"

The Question shook his head weakly. "Wrong. While I was talking with Superman, you were waiting outside for a period of exactly thirty nine seconds."

She took the advantage to glare sourly down at him. "Thirty nine seconds isn't enough time for me to go up front and ask if there are going to be any rolling blackouts, Q."

"Point taken."

The tremors gripping the Watchtower stopped, leaving everything eerily still and quiet again. Huntress's lip twisted slightly. "There, it's stopped. Happy now?"

"Not really. Too many unanswered questions." Huntress rolled her eyes, then frowned as Question changed tack, voice going grim and even somewhat chiding. "I said it before, and I'll say it again. You should not have come for me. Cadmus will head after you next."

"Thanks for the concern," Huntress said, only half sarcastic as the grip of her hand around his tightened, "but I can take care of myself."

If he wasn't wearing his expressionless mask, Huntress was sure Question would have been frowning up at her. "Really? From my experiences with you, you at times lack the common sense necessary to ensure self-preservation."

And, in a flash, Huntress's frayed nerves and naturally quick temper took the reins again. "_I _lack common sense? _Me?_" She let out a slightly derisive laugh. "This from the man who aerosols his mask to his face! Why do you do that, anyway? There are easier ways to hide your identity, you know."

Question let out a stream of caustic laughter that soon turned into a rack of wheezing coughs. Huntress's unmarked brow drew up in worry, stomach churning with cold dread. "Listen, Q, you really should take it easy. You have lung damage; too much strain—"

"I'm not going to kill myself in my hospital bed just by talking to you," Question retorted halfheartedly, trying insistently to sit up before falling back onto the flimsy mattress. "I aerosol the mask to my face to make it almost impossible for anyone to get it off using other means; it's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic. The people at Cadmus tried to get the mask off; you can guess how well that went." Huntress decided that Question was probably smirking. His tone shifted into something a bit less lighthearted. "And you know it's not exactly easy to get it off even with the aerosol."

Huntress nodded, the faint suggestion of a smile gracing her lips. "Yeah, I do."

_Huntress dug her fingers under Question's loosened latex mask and, slowly, began the cautious, laborious process of peeling it away. Bleary, tired blue eyes met her gaze; he was so heavily dosed with painkillers that he couldn't focus his eyes correctly. Blood had pooled at the base of the mask, and congealed red caked his throat, the coppery smell wafting upwards._

_Despite being used to such sights (actually, she was used to _inflicting_ the injuries that evoked such sights), Huntress still winced as she took in how badly bruised and swollen Question's face was beneath the faceless mask, tentatively reaching out to brush the cheek not as deeply blackened as the other with her fingertips. _Someone did a number on you, didn't they?

"_You were right." It was a lame attempt at humor, the words slightly gargled, being spoken through a mouth full of broken teeth, but the humor did not reach his eyes. "I really am the ugliest guy of all time."_

_Throat constricting, Huntress couldn't help but smile, somewhat shakily. "Not in my eyes."_

_It was pretty plain to her, at this juncture, that the real reason Question wore his mask was because he couldn't keep his emotions off of his face._

The smile was soon replaced with a sharp, black-eyed glare. "For God's sake, Question, how'd you get caught? I thought you told me you were keeping Cadmus _off_ your trail." Worry tempered the anger in her voice; Huntress couldn't keep emotions out of her voice any more than Question could keep feeling off of his unmasked face.

"Ahh." Huntress could tell when Question was being evasive, and scowled blackly down at him. "That… that, my dear, is a question for another day."

Fine. She'd ask "another day", but she _would_ get a straight answer out of him, eventually. Huntress shook her head dismissively. Then, eyes narrowed, she asked gingerly, "Question—don't get mad; I'm just asking—but did you…tell them anything." She didn't need to say anything more.

Question shifted his head so he was looking away from her. After an eternally long pause, in which the silence roared in Huntress's ears… "…I don't know."

Huntress pursed her lips. That wasn't a good sign. "You know you can tell me. It's not like you'd have told Cadmus anything they didn't already know." She didn't see how tense Question was getting. "No one would blame you; there aren't a whole lot here—"

"I don't remember!" Question's voice didn't quite rise to a shout, but it came close; Huntress's face flushed scarlet. His grip on her hand clenched until it was almost painful. Her spike of rage passed and cooled to sadness as he went on, slow and deliberate, forcing the words out. "It's all a blur; I can't remember anything past being hooked into that machine. I may have told them everything; I may not have.

"The point of the matter is… I don't know, Helena." He shook his head miserably. "I just don't know."

A long moment passed. The female vigilante grimaced. "So… What happens now?"

What sounded strongly like a vacillating groan tore itself from Question's mouth. "Now that I may or may not have told Cadmus everything?" Huntress didn't think she had ever heard him sound so bitter. "I don't like to think about it. We just ride it out, I suppose."

They fell back into silence, not knowing what else to say. Huntress settled for burning holes into a second of the wall with her jet black eyes; God, how she hated hospital rooms. The quiet and the cold and the sheer blank whiteness. And the smell. The antiseptic smell was the worst of it, without a doubt.

Huntress frowned pensively, wondering if anyone was going to try to pack her off back to earth. She smiled grimly, lips laden down in ice; Huntress pitied anyone foolish enough to try it. There was no way she was leaving until Question was well enough to get up and walk away. _I guess I'll be staying here for a long time, then._

Then, suddenly, an explosion rocked the area again, sending the IV unit tottering upon metal feet. "Is it starting again?"

"No, I don't think so. That sounded a bit more contained than the last."

After a long moment, in which there was a silence Huntress found dreadful, there was a sickening crunch, muffled by metal walls, that came from outside. She stared down at Question, eyes very wide in incredulity. "That sounded like someone getting slammed against a bulkhead." A disbelieving sound tore itself from her throat. "We're being invaded, aren't we?"

"So it would seem. Though you never know, it could just be one of your regular gotten-out-of-hand altercations."

A scream passed through the walls, and Huntress raised an eyebrow smugly. "Yes?" She sounded like a cat with a canary.

Question groaned. "Yes, we're being invaded." Somewhat curiously, he asked, "You'll be investigating, then?"

Huntress grabbed her crossbow and smirked. "That would be a yes." As she walked to the door, she called, "See you in a few."

"Helena." Question's weary voice stopped her in the doorway. "Please… show some caution. Don't make me get out of my deathbed to watch your back."

Huntress stared at him, and then smiled softly. "Sure."


End file.
